St. Gregory's to present month-long exhibit

Wednesday

Feb 27, 2013 at 9:00 AM

St. Gregory’s University will present a month-long exhibit of university-created artwork titled “Nature in Prayer: Artwork from the St. Gregory’s University Community” beginning Friday, March 1, at the Mabee-Gerrer Museum of Art on the SGU campus.

St. Gregory’s University will present a month-long exhibit of university-created artwork titled “Nature in Prayer: Artwork from the St. Gregory’s University Community” beginning Friday, March 1, at the Mabee-Gerrer Museum of Art on the SGU campus.

A reception for the artists will take place Friday March 1 from 4:30-6:30 p.m. at the Mabee-Gerrer Museum of Art on the SGU campus. The reception is free and open to the general public, and refreshments will be served.

The exhibition, which will be on display through March 24, features a unique blend of icons, paintings, drawings, photographs, mixed media works, artist prints, ceramics and sculpture depicting a reverence for God reflected in a love of nature—all created by members of the St. Gregory’s University visual arts faculty, administration, staff and alumni.

“The exciting thing about this work is that it demonstrates the Benedictine mission of the St. Gregory’s community while showing the way that artists search for God through looking at the natural world surrounding them,” Cozad said. “As Fr. Thomas Berry states, ‘The universe lives through us. We are the painter and the painting.’”

In addition to work presented by Cozad, St. Gregory’s President Gregory Main also contributed pieces, including one entitled “The Cow.”

“My work is about either people or animals, which are both a part of nature,” Main said. “The horse and the cow have been important throughout history. I want people to enjoy the interplay of color and expression in my work describing the horse’s movement and the cow’s stability.”

The exhibit will also feature “Sacred Cliff Swallow,” which was painted by SGU Visual Arts professor Dr. Madeline Rugh.

“Within the movement, color and texture of wings, wind and weeds lies a deep and unfathomable silence,” Rugh said of the piece. “This quality of nature draws me into a place of utter stillness and wonder where the sacred dimensions of life can be felt, first hand. My artwork represents a dialogue (prayer) with this awareness—a sacred exchange between breathing bodies.”